There is no way I could have succeeded in changing my behaviour, that is to change my diet, increase my exercise and lose weight without defined rules. I simply could not manage vague criteria and come out with a concrete result.
A little candy or chocolate? I always had trouble with that. Just one cookie, or one cookie occasionally or a few chips occasionally? Nope! It does not make sense either. Without definition, your behaviour cannot be defined. What exactly is a little or occasionally? Why not define it? Maybe commitment is still lacking.
Losing weight is difficult work. Lack of definition simply makes it harder and lowers the probability of success. It provides a connection to the reasons why one gained weight to begin with, but one needs to let go of the past behaviour that led to the weight gain initially. I am sure one cannot simply just change without reason or cause, or a plan for that matter. And the less defined it is, the harder it will be. It shows a lack of commitment and lacks the substance necessary to make the changes required to succeed.
I no longer eat artificial dyes and flavours. Dyes poison me, some of which I am allergic to. Artificial flavours entice me to eat food that is not good for me. They make it harder. They make the food unhealthy. I don’t need them, I don’t want them so I won’t eat them anymore. This rule eliminates most fast food and all candy.
I quit drinking. There was nothing good about alcohol and health. Some issues are specific to me, but regardless, it did not fit for either my mast cell disease, nor my goal to be healthy. None is the only answer and it has been much easier than drinking just a little.
There are many foods that cause an allergic reaction in me and cause gastric, cardio pulmonary, dermal and cognitive problems in me so I don’t eat any of them. Not a little, none at all once I know.
Histamine in food causes me trouble, but this is not an absolute. Histamine is a part of life and cannot be eliminated. Managing it keeps my GI tract, brain and the rest of my body healthy enough to eat and exercise. They are necessary. Once again I have an easy rule. No hi histamine foods and careful management of others. This is not directly related to weight loss, but overall health, which in my last post I explained.
I don’t eat cane sugar, as I get headaches from it. Sugar is not good for me so I eat as little as I can and nothing that sugar is the primary ingredient. I don’t eat chocolate, for example. Cocoa is also high histamine so none. For more on my Mast Cell Activation Disease (MCAD) and diet restrictions specific to this, please see The food I eat and the Poison I don’t.
I currently do not eat filler carbs. No rice, potatoes (allergic to anyway), or pasta. Once I reach phase 4, I may add some carbs back but they will always be managed and determined by how much exercise I am doing and how high my metabolism is.
I do eat bread, but only sprouted grains, no processed wheat flour, but because of artificial flavours and sugar content, there are few I can eat.
I do get carbs from dairy, but I choose higher fat dairy to balance my diet. Ingesting fat is not my enemy and does not make me fat. Excess carbs taken in are stored as fat. It is difficult to maintain. Fat is a more stable fuel source in actual fact.
Another rule for my diet is variability. Anything I do eat I try not to eat excessively and make sure to mix up foods so I am not eating a lot of any one food all the time. This is important for my health, but may not be as big a deal to others.
Everyone will have unique rules they require. But it is the definition that helps one change and guides future choices. These rules make it easier to make choices. No thought is required. Less fortitude is required. Having definition removes future rationalization and debate with oneself over how much of something bad is allowed.
And in the end, I have actually changed what I see when I look at things I have eliminated. If I simply try to reduce them, I admit they always have that attraction to me and that they are acceptable as food in my diet. And that is not true. Most of these things have no nutritional value and do not contribute to health and in fact subtract something from our health. This acceptance of them provides the avenue for craving s to be maintained and I prefer to eliminate them, making my diet choices easier.
So make some rules to follow, or wait until you can before you attempt to change your diet, get healthy and lose weight. Wait until you are ready to commit to some rules that will guide your future path.